Furious, I grabbed my purse and walked toward the door. However before leaving, I turned back to Kingston and gave him a sorrowful look. When he frowned and rolled his eyes at me, it was at that moment that I realized he really didn’t love me. I was reliving my past all over again; my mother’s boyfriends, Mr. Hughes and A.J. Were my mother and Jalisa really right all along? Was I always trying to make a man love me once again? What was I doing wrong for them not to love me?
“Ma’am?” the nurse spoke.
“Bitch, I’m leaving.”
I stared at her for a few seconds then hurried out the door. On my way to the elevator, I bumped a few nurses and visitors. I didn’t care. I needed to get out of that hospital. I boarded the elevator and pressed the main floor button then cried profusely as the elevator made it’s way down.
When the elevator stopped on the main floor, I raced through the front doors and to my car. I knew I probably should’ve gone to my hotel, but for some strange reason, I drove straight to my mother’s house. I’m sure she was gonna have plenty to say, but as furious as I was she could bring her drama. I was ready.
***
“What do you want, Nikki?” she asked after opening the door.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?” I questioned when I realized that she wasn’t. At that moment, my mother glanced over her shoulder then back at me. I wondered what she was hiding. It was probably her man. “What are you…” I stopped and gave her a puzzled look when I heard my son.
“Johnathan!” I yelled right before forcing the door open. There was no way my mother’s weak ass was gonna stop me from seeing my kids. “You weren’t gonna tell me they were here?” I growled at her then lifted Nathan from the couch.
“Germaine told me everything that you’ve done,” she said before grabbing the cordless phone and pressing three numbers. “You will not touch these boys!”
“They’re my fucking sons!” I yelled at her.
“Yes, operator, I have an intruder,” she spoke into the phone.
I couldn’t believe this bitch had called 9-1-1 on me. After relaying her message, she hung up.
“How could you do this to me? I’m your daughter!”
“You haven’t been my fucking daughter since your father left. All these years, you were pissed off at me because of him. It’s time that you know the true story. I kicked your father out because I found out he had another kid; same age as you.”
My heart sank. “Stop lying!”
“I kept that secret because I knew you wouldn’t understand since the two of you were so close.”
“Shut up!”
“You see your sister all the time, Nikki.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” I asked with an overly curious look on my face. “Niquole,” my mother paused like she was about to relay some heart wrenching news, “Jalisa is your sister. She doesn’t know either.”
I nearly dropped Nathan. Jalisa? My sister? How in the hell could she keep something like this from me? I nearly vomited as I thought back to our night with Mr. Hughes when we were in high school.
“Are you fucking serious? How could you keep something like that away from me? You should’ve told me! You don’t know what the hell Jalisa and I have been through together!” When I walked over to her and pried Johnathan from her leg, he started crying.
“You wouldn’t have understood, Nikki and neither would Jalisa. When your father told me that he knew for all those years that Jalisa was his daughter, I lost it. I couldn’t forgive him for that and I damn sure wasn’t gonna forget. He had to go.”
I didn’t know what to feel or say. All I could do was stand there and stare at her with a blank look on my face. I had to get out of there before I did something crazy. I started toward, the door, but she stepped in front of me.
“I can’t let you take these boys.”
“What in the hell do you mean by that?” I asked with a serious look on my face. “My children are going with me and you’re not gonna do a damn thing about it!” Johnathan started crying even more. When I walked around her nearly dragging him in the process, her ass stepped in front of me again. “You need to move out of my way! All these years, you’ve been fucking lying to me!”
“You wouldn’t have understood.”
“How in the hell do you know that? You didn’t even try to make me understand!”
“You need help, Nikki.”
“I don’t need any fucking help! I probably wouldn’t be the way that I am if I knew the fucking truth!”
“You need to talk to someone. I can’t let you take these boys. I’m going to do everything in my power to help Germaine get full custody of them even if that means digging up your past indiscretions.”
I was at a loss for words. With my track record, I didn’t stand a chance.
“Why is everyone always taking up for Germaine? He’s not innocent! He’s not fucking innocent!”
“Give me Nathan, Nikki, and you better leave before the police arrive.”
I gave her a flabbergasted look then stared at my bundle of joy that was in my arms. I couldn’t hold back the tears as he cooed in my face. They were no longer tears of anger. They were tears of sadness. I held him tight, kissed his cheek then slowly handed him off to my mother. When I pulled Johnathan into my arms, he was a little resistant.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked through sniffles.
“Don’t wanna go wit’ you.”
A knife instantly drove through my heart after hearing those words. After that, I had to let them go. The only ones who were able to give me unconditional love were being taken away from me. Besides, I knew it wasn’t right to drag them into my mess. I didn’t bother to look back at them as I walked to the door.
“Nikki, you know this is for the best. These kids need stability,” my mother said.
“Y’all turned my boys against me.”
“No, you turned your boys against yourself.”
“Before this shit is all said and done, you or Germaine’s parents will have custody of my boys. I’m gonna make sure that Germaine doesn’t stand a fucking chance. While he was telling you about my faults, he should’ve been telling you about his.”
When she gave me a curious look, I decided to let the shit hit the fan on its own time because I was positive that it would all be unfolding soon.
CHAPTER 27
Twenty minutes after leaving my mother’s house, I turned in the Westin’s parking lot. After slowly walking to my room, I took a deep breath and fell back on the bed thinking about what my mother had told me about Jalisa as well as the disappearance of my money. How could she keep such a secret from me? The bitch who’d tried to kill my man was my sister. Damn! Even worse, we’d kissed in high school. I couldn’t help but laugh. The whole situation was a bit hilarious and damn near unbelievable.
However, the Jalisa situation was the least of my worries at the moment. I was more so pissed off about my money if anything. I needed my money. The more pissed off I got, the more I realized that I had to find a way to get at least some of it back from Germaine. There was no way his ass was just gonna walk away with my shit without me putting up a fight. Then it hit me. I’d even let Meagan’s ass get away with blackmailing me for the money and still hadn’t done anything about it.
“That bitch!” I yelled after jumping off the bed.
It was finally time for her to feel my size seven up her ass or pressed across her throat. She’d definitely fucked with the wrong one. Rushing out of the room and down to the lobby, I power walked to my car and peeled out of the parking lot with thoughts of Meagan’s whereabouts on my mind. The first place I wanted to look was her house, but as long as she’d worked for me, I’d never been there, so I didn’t have an address. Thinking about her employee file, I made a quick right and headed to my label.
During the drive, I kept calling her, but of course she wouldn’t answer. I’m sure she knew I wasn’t calling to see how her day went. Again, she played me, but she w
asn’t getting away with it this time. Even though Kingston had told me she’d spent all the cash, I still needed to see for myself.
I arrived at my label a few minutes later. After unlocking the door, I ran straight to my office and turned on the light. Ignoring Kingston’s blood on the floor, I hurried to my desk and turned on my desktop. I needed that bitch’s address…and fast. Luckily, I’d stored all of my employees’ information in a secured spot. As soon as I typed in my password and allowed the computer to boot up, I skimmed through the list of names until my eyes landed on hers.
“See you in a minute, bitch,” I said jotting down her information and dashing back outside.
I drove like a maniac trying to get to Camden Park Apartments on Woodland Drive. I was determined that her ass was going to give me my fucking money back.
Once I arrived at the garden style apartment complex, I hurried up the stairs taking two at a time to the second floor. Soon, I was standing in front of her door. I stood there for a few seconds as I listened to the sounds of Joss Stone coming from inside. If she was having a party, I was about to crash it.
I knocked as hard as I could to make sure she heard me. As soon as she opened the door, you would’ve thought she’d seen a ghost from her facial expression. But a few seconds later, she gave me a smug and drunken smile. That’s when I noticed the wine bottle in her hand. To make matters worse, Meagan’s blond hair was all over her head, her eyes looked like a raccoon from running mascara and her lipstick was smeared.
“You have a lot of fucking nerves showing up here,” she slurred before walking back inside.
I took that as an invitation to enter. I stared around her apartment and noticed a few empty pill bottles tossed on the floor. By the way she looked and the evidence all around me, I wondered how in the hell she was even able to stand.
I wasted no time. “Where the fuck is my money, Meagan?”
She looked at me and turned up the bottle. After taking a long swig, she laughed. “What money?”
“Bitch, don’t insult me! The money you blackmailed from me! I want my shit now!”
Meagan laughed again as if the situation amused her. “Ask Kingston,” she slurred before drinking from the bottle again.
At that point, I couldn’t take anymore. I ran up to her drunk ass, knocked the bottle out of her hand then slapped the shit out of her pale white skin. Deciding that I wasn’t done, I shook Meagan uncontrollably before pushing her onto the floor.
I stood over that bitch and gave her a questionable look. “What are you talking about? Ask him what?”
“He just left here with your money.”
“Now, bitch, I know you’re lying. That’s fucking impossible. Kingston’s at the hospital. He was shot earlier.”
“I know. I watched the ambulance take him away from across the street.” She smiled deviously. “But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t take your money.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He has your money. When I couldn’t get more, he took what I had.”
“What the hell are you talking about Meagan? Besides, Kingston told me you spent it all.”
She smiled. “You don’t know Kingston very well, do you? He fucked me just like he fucked you.”
“How could he have my money when he’s lying in a hospital bed?”
“Let’s just say, he checked himself out earlier,” she replied. “Look around you, Niquole. Look at me. He’s been here.”
When I glanced around the apartment, it did look as though it had been ransacked. “There’s one thing that has bothered me about the rape.”
Meagan chuckled. “Which one? Yours or my friend’s?”
“Bitch, you know which one I’m talking about. Where did it happen? Houston or Dallas?”
“Right here in good oleeee Houston,” she slurred. “I’ll let you in on another little secret, too,” she continued. “Kingston doesn’t live in Dallas. He lives right in the heart of Houston.”
Before I could respond, the bitch passed out. Her ass went down like she’d just been knocked out by a professional boxer. I stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief before rummaging through her apartment to see if she was lying. She wasn’t. My money was nowhere to be found.
Walking back into the living room, I stood over her body. For some reason, I didn’t feel sorry for her ass, and wasn’t inclined to get her some help. “Bitch, I hope you fucking die!” I said, right before walking out the front door. I’d let someone else find her corpse.
CHAPTER 28
Confused about the entire situation, I drove around the city for at least two hours before I found myself turning onto my street. Against Germaine’s threats I decided to go back to my house anyway. Since my goal was to see if he was crazy enough to hide some of my stolen money or maybe even the check, I hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t be there. Besides, what else did I have to lose at this point? He wasn’t known to park in the garage, so once I coasted into my driveway and didn’t see his truck, for once my prayers were answered.
I hurried out of the car and to the front door, fumbling through my keys. I had no idea why I was so damn nervous since the money was mine anyway, but my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. After finding the right key, I only managed to get it halfway in, before realizing that it didn’t work. He’d obviously changed the locks.
“Fuck!” I yelled.
Not knowing what to do, I began to pace back and forth until suddenly thinking about the garage. Running to the side of the house, I quickly punched in Nathan’s birthday and smiled once I saw the door slowly begin to rise.
His dumb ass forgot to change the garage door code, I thought before running inside.
However, as soon as I reached the door leading into the house, and tried to turn the knob, it wouldn’t bulge.
“Shit! We never lock that door,” I said to myself.
I scoured the garage looking for something to help me break in. Soon, my eyes landed on the hand saw that Germaine used to cut wood for the fireplace. I grabbed the Black & Decker cordless machine and quickly started it up. Despite being unaware of what I was doing, I managed to cut the door knob off and gain entry within a few minutes.
Realizing that the house alarm didn’t go off, I raced upstairs to his bedroom and looked in every drawer hoping I would stumble upon something. Next, I went into his closet and even checked his shoe boxes, but still couldn’t find anything. Rushing back downstairs, I stopped when I saw the door leading to the basement open. Wondering if it was open when I first came inside the house, I was just about to go down there, when someone grabbed my shoulder.
As soon as I turned around, my eyes bulged when I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. “Kingston?” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”
I could tell that he was still in pain from the way he clinched his face every few seconds.
He forced a sinister smile. “Your bitch ass husband sent his flunkie after me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“At the hospital. I was taking a piss when I heard my room door open. I thought it was a nurse or doctor checking up on me. When I opened the bathroom door, I saw that thick ass nigga holding a syringe. You finally did something right, Niquole. You warned me about them.”
I knew he was talking about Tyrell. “What did you do?”
“I rushed his ass. He dropped the syringe during the tussle, but I put his ass to sleep. He’s probably waking up now in my hospital gown.”
I glanced at his attire. I could tell that he was wearing Tyrell’s clothes because they were way too big for him.
“I have a job to finish with your husband and since I’m here, I may as well kill two birds with one stone.”
“Kingston, please don’t do this!” I begged.
“You leave me no other choice. You’ve become too much of a fucking liability. I have to make sure that your mistakes don’t catch up to me. I’m not going back to jail, Niquole.
“Back to jail?” I questi
oned.
“Just a few assaults,” he replied.
I gasped again. Who in the hell had I fallen in love with? “Kingston, Germaine isn’t here,” I tried to prolong my death.
“I’ll just have to catch up with him another time, but believe me. I will get to him.”
I had to think of something. “Let me help you find him. We can get rid of him and still be together. I have some money left, so it won’t be hard for us to leave the country.”
“Oh, I am leaving the country but not with you,” he chuckled.
I slowly closed my eyes when I saw him cock the gun. Memories of my dad taking me to the park, movies, Chuck-E-Cheese and the beach clouded my mind. I wished I could go back to those days. I wished I could turn back the hands of time and be with my boys.
“Drop the fucking gun, nigga!”
I opened my eyes when I heard Germaine’s voice.
“Guess that nigga woke up and called you, huh?” Kingston asked.
Germaine waved his own gun. “He didn’t have to. I was waiting in the parking lot the entire time. I saw when you came out of the hospital and jumped in a cab. I followed you here.”
“Germaine, what are you doing?” I asked. “Put the gun down!”
“Yeah, put the gun down because I’m not putting my shit down!” Kingston yelled.
Germaine smiled. “No, I’m gonna get rid of this problem.”
“Germaine, this isn’t you. Don’t do this,” I pleaded.
The vicious glare he gave me sent chills up and down my spine. “You’re right. This isn’t me,” Germaine said.
I blew a sigh of relief.
“Punk ass,” Kingston huffed.
“Niquole, I think you should do the honors,” Germaine smiled wickedly.
I freaked out. “What?”
“Come here,” he ordered.
I slowly walked over to him never unlocking my eyes from Kingston’s.
“Do you love this man?” Germaine asked me when I reached him.
I stared at him. I was afraid to answer.
“Answer the fucking question. Do you love him?”
“Yes,” I answered with tears in my eyes. “Please don’t kill him.” I could tell that Germaine’s heart crumbled.
The Available Wife Page 20